Dm Trouble [Archive] - Wizards Community - Pages Merged by Solauren

Dm Trouble [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
ArchmageGromph
05-25-06, 11:51 AM well the truth is im a bit of a difficult player as well in the fact that i like to deviate from the core races in my cousins new campaign he has limited it to the base races well thats fair enough not a big deal but now hes making us take notes if we do we get a 20% exp bonus but if not its a -20% penalty just for not taking notes i know it may seem like a small reason im complaining but i play dnd to have fun express myself and get away from work i dont want it to become like a job wut do you all think
Witch
05-25-06, 11:57 AM I have a funny rule.

I don't give xp penalties or bonuses for keeping notes, but I do use the following:

"If you've forgot, your character forgot." This encourages my players to keep notes, or they suddenly don't get the plot, or go into dark places they really shouldn't have gone, and their chance of dying just grew.

This rule is in effect for every information the character heard. It's not in effect for information they experienced themselves.
Bruunwald
05-25-06, 12:08 PM I do reward XP for good roleplaying. I also might consider a small bonus to someone who voluntarily played the role of the party record-keeper and did a thorough job of it.

I would never penalize anyone for not doing that - that's silly.

To the OP: You should sit down and talk with your DM about suspending penalties for not taking notes. It's one thing to get a bonus for taking them, but not his job to "punish" you for not doing extra credit work in his game. Tell him what you told us: you are there to have fun playing a game, not to work.

As to the notion that if the player has forgotten something, the character has as well, I wonder if the DM forces players of Str 18 characters to work out for six hours every day at a gym until their real-life strength matches their character's? How about forcing the player of the party's Cha 18 bard to go out and get plastic surgery and learn to play an instrument?

Look, there is a big difference between character knowledge and player knowledge. There is a whole section on this in the DMG. Sometimes the player knows things the character doesn't. Sometimes the character knows things the player doesn't. You can't realistically imagine that Jake the Fighter has forgotten the name of the man who he was told killed his daughter, just because his player is absent-minded or didn't jot it down.

And, again, we have no business as DMs, punishing our players for not working for extra credit in our games. I think it's hugely arrogant to think they should.
ArchmageGromph
05-25-06, 12:17 PM i have told him id rather not but the thing is another dm of mine is let say you gain exp enough to go up a level we are not allowed until we go and train and earlier in a seperate campaign i asked to play a dragon using dragon classes from dragon magazine well i was told no last campaign another player was allowed to play a dragon even though i was playing a character with a 4 lvl adj. this is a different dm than i mentioned in my first post but heres the thing the player that was allowed to play a dragon was the dm who wants the notes and they are brothers...im their cousin
Seeker95
05-25-06, 12:35 PM If you're not happy, tell the DM why. If the DM doesn't change, then you need to either change your attitude,r leave the game, or resign yourself to be unhappy.
hmmmm
05-25-06, 04:04 PM Hmmm if you don't want to take notes, don't. If there is not XP penalty then why does it matter. You don't have to get the most XP just make sure you are keeping up with the others and don't lag behind. You can even pretend to take notes (Unless he checks them like the teachers) so you can get the XP if you want it/need it badly.
mvincent
05-25-06, 04:15 PM or go into dark places they really shouldn't have gone, and their chance of dying just grew.I think it's spelled "groo"
; )
celtredleg
05-25-06, 04:43 PM Is there a reason he is doing this?? Or he just woke up one day and said hey, I bet the players will hate this, lets do it!

I encourage my players to keep notes, but never require it.
KmartS
05-25-06, 08:09 PM I Have These Great Ideas When I Want To Be Dm, But When I Try Being Dm The Group Tries To Take Control Of The Game. There Are Times When I Try To Get The Group To Actually Role Play But They Metagame Alot. There Was One Time I Was A Player And One Of The Team Mates Got Poisoned. Now The Druis In The Group Went To The Fighter That Got Poisoned And Cast Detected Poison On Him. A Third Player Said "why Are You Doing That, As A Healer You Showed Know!?". Now Is That Metagaming Or What. But When I Dm That Is The Kidda Stuff That Some Of The Players Do. If Anyone Reads This Hook A Player With Some Advice
Vasquine_DeTsar
05-25-06, 11:21 PM Hey Rain Man, I Bet Your Mom Thinks It's Cool When You Type Like This, But I Don't Think It's Going To Catch On.

On a serious note, metagaming needs treatment - I find a fitting punishment of minor XP penalties usually does the trick in combat situations, if you know that the Tarrasque needs a Wish spell to keep dead, but don't make any of the appropraite checks to find this out and act on that information, then obviously the encounter is not as challenging as it would've been.
Varia
05-26-06, 01:18 AM I would imagine that the reason he's doing it is that he doesnt want to have to be the players brains as well as his own. Either he's experienced players being lazy or inattentive, and is fed up with the constant questions that that leads to, so he developed this idea to give the players incentive. I know I've had a player or two in my time who needed to be smacked for refusing to use their own damn brains.

*hugs*
Varia
Fromost the Grimm
05-26-06, 01:24 AM Not too sure about the examples you cited, but I'd definitely give an xp bonus for the correct use of punctuation, at least . . .
Ut-Napishtim
05-26-06, 08:16 AM Hey Rain Man, I Bet Your Mom Thinks It's Cool When You Type Like This, But I Don't Think It's Going To Catch On.

ROFLMAO
:rofl:

On topic, I agree it's pretty heavy-handed of your DM to do this. Normally if my players can't remember something and didn't write it down I allow them an Intelligence check to rememeber. Obviously in some instances that's not required - a character is going to rememeber his mom's name, but not neccesarily the local baker's even though they've met. Really knowing what the heck is going on in a D&D game should be it's own reward. As was mentioned, I think this guy just got tired one day of having to constantly remind players of everything.
KJW
05-26-06, 08:25 AM I give bonus XP when I ask a question and a player (one of the three or four who takes notes) answers first, such as what was the name of the inn keeper at the Tipsy Pixie? A DM should never penalize players, it just sets the wrong tone for the campaign. One of my players has just compiled a list of NPCs in my online campaign, which is great as I have been losing track of them, which is a little embarassing as DM. I am going to give him bonus XP, the secret to DMing is to never use negative reinforcement, merely consequences and positive reinforcement to elicit desired outcomes. It's the same for management, parenting, and DMing.
hmmmm
05-26-06, 09:06 AM Dungeons and Dragons is a game, why make it a chore?

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ArchmageGromph 05-25-06, 11:51 AM	well the truth is im a bit of a difficult player as well in the fact that i like to deviate from the core races in my cousins new campaign he has limited it to the base races well thats fair enough not a big deal but now hes making us take notes if we do we get a 20% exp bonus but if not its a -20% penalty just for not taking notes i know it may seem like a small reason im complaining but i play dnd to have fun express myself and get away from work i dont want it to become like a job wut do you all think
Witch 05-25-06, 11:57 AM	I have a funny rule. I don't give xp penalties or bonuses for keeping notes, but I do use the following: "If you've forgot, your character forgot." This encourages my players to keep notes, or they suddenly don't get the plot, or go into dark places they really shouldn't have gone, and their chance of dying just grew. This rule is in effect for every information the character heard. It's not in effect for information they experienced themselves.
Bruunwald 05-25-06, 12:08 PM	I do reward XP for good roleplaying. I also might consider a small bonus to someone who voluntarily played the role of the party record-keeper and did a thorough job of it. I would never penalize anyone for not doing that - that's silly. To the OP: You should sit down and talk with your DM about suspending penalties for not taking notes. It's one thing to get a bonus for taking them, but not his job to "punish" you for not doing extra credit work in his game. Tell him what you told us: you are there to have fun playing a game, not to work. As to the notion that if the player has forgotten something, the character has as well, I wonder if the DM forces players of Str 18 characters to work out for six hours every day at a gym until their real-life strength matches their character's? How about forcing the player of the party's Cha 18 bard to go out and get plastic surgery and learn to play an instrument? Look, there is a big difference between character knowledge and player knowledge. There is a whole section on this in the DMG. Sometimes the player knows things the character doesn't. Sometimes the character knows things the player doesn't. You can't realistically imagine that Jake the Fighter has forgotten the name of the man who he was told killed his daughter, just because his player is absent-minded or didn't jot it down. And, again, we have no business as DMs, punishing our players for not working for extra credit in our games. I think it's hugely arrogant to think they should.
ArchmageGromph 05-25-06, 12:17 PM	i have told him id rather not but the thing is another dm of mine is let say you gain exp enough to go up a level we are not allowed until we go and train and earlier in a seperate campaign i asked to play a dragon using dragon classes from dragon magazine well i was told no last campaign another player was allowed to play a dragon even though i was playing a character with a 4 lvl adj. this is a different dm than i mentioned in my first post but heres the thing the player that was allowed to play a dragon was the dm who wants the notes and they are brothers...im their cousin
Seeker95 05-25-06, 12:35 PM	If you're not happy, tell the DM why. If the DM doesn't change, then you need to either change your attitude,r leave the game, or resign yourself to be unhappy.
hmmmm 05-25-06, 04:04 PM	Hmmm if you don't want to take notes, don't. If there is not XP penalty then why does it matter. You don't have to get the most XP just make sure you are keeping up with the others and don't lag behind. You can even pretend to take notes (Unless he checks them like the teachers) so you can get the XP if you want it/need it badly.
mvincent 05-25-06, 04:15 PM	or go into dark places they really shouldn't have gone, and their chance of dying just grew.I think it's spelled "groo" ; )
celtredleg 05-25-06, 04:43 PM	Is there a reason he is doing this?? Or he just woke up one day and said hey, I bet the players will hate this, lets do it! I encourage my players to keep notes, but never require it.
KmartS 05-25-06, 08:09 PM	I Have These Great Ideas When I Want To Be Dm, But When I Try Being Dm The Group Tries To Take Control Of The Game. There Are Times When I Try To Get The Group To Actually Role Play But They Metagame Alot. There Was One Time I Was A Player And One Of The Team Mates Got Poisoned. Now The Druis In The Group Went To The Fighter That Got Poisoned And Cast Detected Poison On Him. A Third Player Said "why Are You Doing That, As A Healer You Showed Know!?". Now Is That Metagaming Or What. But When I Dm That Is The Kidda Stuff That Some Of The Players Do. If Anyone Reads This Hook A Player With Some Advice
Vasquine_DeTsar 05-25-06, 11:21 PM	Hey Rain Man, I Bet Your Mom Thinks It's Cool When You Type Like This, But I Don't Think It's Going To Catch On. On a serious note, metagaming needs treatment - I find a fitting punishment of minor XP penalties usually does the trick in combat situations, if you know that the Tarrasque needs a Wish spell to keep dead, but don't make any of the appropraite checks to find this out and act on that information, then obviously the encounter is not as challenging as it would've been.
Varia 05-26-06, 01:18 AM	I would imagine that the reason he's doing it is that he doesnt want to have to be the players brains as well as his own. Either he's experienced players being lazy or inattentive, and is fed up with the constant questions that that leads to, so he developed this idea to give the players incentive. I know I've had a player or two in my time who needed to be smacked for refusing to use their own damn brains. hugs Varia
Fromost the Grimm 05-26-06, 01:24 AM	Not too sure about the examples you cited, but I'd definitely give an xp bonus for the correct use of punctuation, at least . . .
Ut-Napishtim 05-26-06, 08:16 AM	Hey Rain Man, I Bet Your Mom Thinks It's Cool When You Type Like This, But I Don't Think It's Going To Catch On. ROFLMAO :rofl: On topic, I agree it's pretty heavy-handed of your DM to do this. Normally if my players can't remember something and didn't write it down I allow them an Intelligence check to rememeber. Obviously in some instances that's not required - a character is going to rememeber his mom's name, but not neccesarily the local baker's even though they've met. Really knowing what the heck is going on in a D&D game should be it's own reward. As was mentioned, I think this guy just got tired one day of having to constantly remind players of everything.
KJW 05-26-06, 08:25 AM	I give bonus XP when I ask a question and a player (one of the three or four who takes notes) answers first, such as what was the name of the inn keeper at the Tipsy Pixie? A DM should never penalize players, it just sets the wrong tone for the campaign. One of my players has just compiled a list of NPCs in my online campaign, which is great as I have been losing track of them, which is a little embarassing as DM. I am going to give him bonus XP, the secret to DMing is to never use negative reinforcement, merely consequences and positive reinforcement to elicit desired outcomes. It's the same for management, parenting, and DMing.
hmmmm 05-26-06, 09:06 AM	Dungeons and Dragons is a game, why make it a chore?